After their first day in Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall spent the day at St Mary’s, the Isle of Scilly’s largest island and gateway to the rest of the islands.
Charles and Camilla’s day began with them attending the Island Fair in Hugh Town on St Mary’s.
Embed from Getty ImagesHugh Town is the hub comprising a group of shops, banks, churches, post office, cafés, galleries, restaurants and pubs as well as the fantastic museum. It also home to three beaches: Porthcressa, Town Beach and Porthmellon, which hosts the Sailing Centre.
The Duke and Duchess visited a local produce market that was attended by numerous guest vendors. The market held every two months is a collection of local traders and craftspeople.
Charles went on learn more about some of the projects that are on-going on the Isles of Scilly including the Lobster Tagging Project, the Marine Conservation Zones and the Islands’ Partnership.
As her husband was out learning about the lobsters and conservation, Camilla toured numerous stalls ranging from fudge to fish. The royal couple then together were entertained by The Sunset Syncopators dance band, a group of musicians who play original arrangements from 1920-1930s.
After enjoying some toe-tapping tunes, The Duchess of Cornwall made a visit to HolyVale Vineyard on St Mary’s.
Camilla, Patron of the United Kingdom Vineyards Association since 2011, recently stopped at Ancre Hill Vineyard during her visit to Wales.
The UKVA is the only organisation recognised by the Government and the wider community as representing the English and Welsh wine industry.
Planted in the spring of 2009, HolyVale Vineyard is made up of parcels of land situated in HolyVale, Maypole, Silver Carn and Helvear. The vineyard comprises 7,000 Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris vines. These were picked over the standard, frequently German varieties that are traditionally grown in the UK largely for climatic reasons.
During her visit, Camilla met staff as she toured HolyVale. She viewed the vines and production area as well as the winery store and shop before meeting vineyard supporters in the tasting room.
Charles met with his wife as they toured St Agnes. Tuesday visit included the royal couple stopping at the Turk’s Head pub, the local post office, Westward Farm, Troytown Farm, and St Agnes Church.
Troytown Farm is the only dairy farm in Scilly. With only nine dairy cows, it is quite possibly the smallest in the country. Run on a small scale, the milk processed in the dairy is used to make ice cream, clotted cream, butter and yogurt, all of which are sold directly to customers from the farm shop.
Following the packed schedule of visits the stopped at the new Island Hall and hosted a reception for the Duchy of Cornwall tenants.
Created with the benefit of a £1.7 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund, the new Island Hall on St Agnes included the refurbishment of the former Methodist Hall next door. The project was managed by a team of volunteers from the local community.
Featured photo credit: Bill Braasch via Flickr
